Portugal will focus on producing hydrogen for its own consumption, and less for export, and will give priority to small and medium-sized renewable energy projects, the Minister of Environment and Energy stated this Monday.
We will give priority to “small and medium-sized projects, not just large ones, and we will try to ensure that large projects do not have negative impacts in other areas”, in the economy, agriculture or the landscape, Maria da Graça Carvalho told Lusa. . after a meeting with nine environmental protection organizations, which she wants to make regulated.
The minister stated that large-scale renewable energy projects are important, including to achieve objectives at European and United Nations level, but added that small-scale projects have less impact on the environment and also “help people transition more”.
There is the fact of making it easier for everyone to produce their energy, at home, in an industrial park, in a warehouse, and making it simple and easy will be one of our priorities, because this will involve the population much more in the production of energy. Clean energy will “empower” people and make them participate in this revolution,” he explained.
As for hydrogen, the focus, he said, will be on using it where it is produced, because it is still difficult to transport.
For Maria da Graça Carvalho the “first focus”, taking into account that hydrogen, which plays an important role in the energy transition, is the use of green hydrogen locally, mainly for industry, and not for export.
Producing clean hydrogen is “a competitive advantage to attract industry,” said the minister, adding that in the past Portugal had difficulties attracting industries because electricity was not competitive with the rest of Europe.
“At this time, hydrogen produced from renewable energy, at low cost, should be used as a competitiveness factor to attract industry, attract large industrial companies that create wealth and employment in Portugal,” he stated.
Another priority for the Government, said Maria da Graça Carvalho, is the decarbonization of the transport sectorone of the main responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases, through investments in quality public transport and more railways.
And in water, another concern, the Government is committed to investing in the Algarve, where there is the greatest lack of water, and then moving on to the rest of the country.
Investments happen, he exemplified, to control water use, to reduce losses, which exceed 50% in some municipalitiesfor greater reuse and to reinforce existing facilities.
In the Algarve, the construction of a desalination plant will be accelerated and the possibility of having a water intake in the Pomarão area is being evaluated.
All this, said Maria da Graça Carvalho, will be presented soon, in coordination with the entire Government.
Source: Observadora
